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Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden star in BBC1’s tense new political thriller, Bodyguard

Bodyguard, Monday, 9PM, BBC1. (Image: BBC1)

Four years ago, Keeley Hawes landed a game-changing role, as bent cop DI Lindsay Denton in the second series of Line Of Duty. It was a gift of a part that showcased Keeley’s impressive acting chops and launched her as the go-to talent for strong lead characters.

“When we meet Julia she’s a very serious woman. You can’t be anything but terribly serious when you’re looking after the security and the safety of the country. So, that’s what I really, really liked about it when I read the first couple of episodes. It’s fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes.”

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Keeley Hawes (Image: GETTY)

But the forced intimacy between Julia and David – he accompanies her everywhere and searches her flat every evening before she’s allowed in – eventually results in frank and open conversations.

“It’s different for me, because I have three children, so I can’t imagine something like that taking over my own life. But you just give yourself over to it – that would be the only way to deal with it.

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“As the story goes on, we do see little chinks in her armour really, because she does have to have this public façade.”

At first, David sees Julia only as the intransigent politician.

“There’s a constant kind of tug between them and missed connections,” explains Richard Madden, 32.

“They kind of connect with each other and then ruin it. They’re quite volatile creatures and quite alpha creatures, independently. They’re spilling into each other’s worlds, from his past into her present.”

Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden (Image: GETTY)

David’s war experiences have left him a wreck – he’s suppressing his PTSD so that his bosses don’t find out and is living apart from his two children and wife, Vicky (Peaky Blinders’ Sophie Rundle), who urges him to seek help.

The question is how his emotional state or dislike of Julia’s policies will affect his ability to do his job.

“I was attracted to the contradictions within this man who deeply cares and wants to protect, but also has these strong political opinions, and how these get in the way of that,” explains Richard. “So I was attracted by someone who is constantly fighting within himself but has inherent good within him.”

Bodyguard mixes high-octane action with an intense relationship drama about two complex people.

“Bodyguard is about scratching below the surface and being quite surprised by what you find when you think you know what you’re seeing,” muses Keeley.